Realign with peace
ONCE again we are on the verge of another global war which might break out anytime as Russian army’s invasion of Ukrainian territory is getting increasingly imminent.
The innocent Ukrainian people await the global ‘saviours’ to intervene.The West continues with its belligerent rhetoric against Putin and has imposed sanctions but, who cares.The haunting consequences of this conflict have created a mass hysteria around the globe.
PTI government has yet to come out of the hang over of Imran Khan’s meeting with Putin.The timing of this visit is absolutely important.US must have sensed the gravity of its worsening ties with Pakistan.
However, the real challenge is for Pakistan as to how it finds out an equation with both blocs simultaneously.
Of course, this two-pronged dilemma can pose a serious threat to the country’s already lingering economy but, what is the way forward?Pakistan has a long history of falling deep into the quagmire of ‘imbalance’.
Country’s leadership has to realise that contrary to our past acute alliance with Western Bloc, we don’t go too far in our new ‘affair’ with Eastern Bloc.
That’s when our independence is compromised.Inclining too much to one can cause a complete decline.
Our previous economic and strategic dependence on the West has already caused tremendous damage to our economy and security as a result of heaps of loans and a wave of terror across the country following our compulsion to ‘do more’.
The emerging security challenge in the region will once again push us to align with either of the blocs.
Who will we side with, how and how much?China’s reply to Russia-Ukraine conflict is a lesson for us.
Chinese government official has recently been reported as saying that Russia doesn’t require China’s help as it is self-sufficient and powerful enough to accomplish its ‘goals’.
Pakistan has already suffered heavily owing to its alignment with the West during invasions against Afghanistan by Soviets and the US respectively.Consequently, it has earned more enemies for itself.
More ‘friendships’, more dependencies, more reciprocating of ‘help’, more terrorism more economic and security breakdowns.How can we avoid this to happen again?
We are left with only one way of doing things to protect ourselves against this double-edged challenge.We have to tone down our claim to be located in a strategically important location.
Our obsession with this ‘luxury’ has always proved to be fatal for us as it kept compelling us to play roles by compromising our own national interests.
Unless we rid ourselves of such delusions and move in the right direction to empower the country economically without the curse of foreign loans and aids, we will continue to look for new alignments and realignments for our survival and sovereignty.
There is a widespread disillusionment in the world as to what implications this conflict will inflict on global economy, peace and security.
Already, the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused fuel prices soaring.
The upcoming challenges regarding security and economy are likely to further put Pakistan stress.Pakistan must not indulge itself in yet another conflict by siding with either of the two.
The gravity of the consequences will be immeasurable and unbearable if the blunder of blind alignment is repeated once again.
—The writer is an MPhil scholar, based in Sargodha.
